HSO Excels In Williams' Symphony

Piano Soloist Interprets Gershwin's 'Rhapsody'

May 11, 2013|By JEFFREY JOHNSON, Special To The Courant, The Hartford Courant

In an unusual but engaging program that unfolded like three events in one, the Hartford Symphony, conducted by music director Carolyn Kuan, continued its Masterworks Series in the Belding Theater at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts.

Part one of this event featured a work that is a rare treat in live performance: the Symphony No. 6 by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Part two consisted of two works for piano and orchestra by George Gershwin each played by a different soloist. Part three was an extended series of encores for the two soloists, who are also the members of an emerging and innovative piano duo.

In spite of the composer's protests to the contrary, many listeners have come to imagine the Vaughan Williams sixth symphony as a work that testifies to the horrors of war. Begun in 1944 when the composer was 72 years old, it is often performed to highlight its dark shades. Kuan took a controlled tempo at the opening of the work. The tempo felt slightly slow but was actually very close to the composer's metronome marking. The music was intense but not frantic and this allowed Kuan to make more out of the lyrical and strangely playful attitudes that occasionally visit this symphony.

The orchestra played with fiery precision and thrilling balances in all spectrums of dynamic. The finale of this symphony, called an "Epilogue" by the composer, was an extended study in quiet ecstasy. The orchestra successfully played for 11 minutes at no more than a whisper. Powered by the intensity of the prior three movements the impression was perfectly cast.

After intermission pianist Elizabeth Joy Roe was soloist in Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue." Roe sought to blur the edges in this famous work, which can feel overly segmented in the wrong hands. Her sense of humor revealed itself in gestures that would be quickly recast in soulful blues. The orchestra was fabulous, and the "wah-wah" trumpet mutes that Gershwin asked for were played with such exaggerated "wah" that chuckles of delight peppered the hall.

Pianist Greg Anderson then took a turn as soloist with the orchestra in Gershwin's "I've Got Rhythm Variations." Anderson's playing is very different from Roe's and it was fascinating to compare these Piano Duo partners in this context. Anderson loves to accentuate unexpected features that create connections. He captured the mercurial qualities of this work in an energized performance.

After this work concluded something else unexpected happened. Kuan dismissed the orchestra. She began to talk with the piano duo as a second concert grand was maneuvered onto the stage. Then, the third phase of the performance began as the two soloists became the Anderson & Roe Piano Duo and played a series of encores. They played their own jazzy arrangement of Mozart's "Rondo alla Turca" for two pianos which they renamed "Ragtime alla Turca," followed by a sensuously scored four hand arrangement of Rachmaninoff's "Vocalise." Then Stravinsky's two piano version of the "Sacrificial Dance" from "The Rite of Spring" was followed by a four-hand arrangement of Piazzolla's "Libertango" that included evocative sounds created from hand-muted piano strings.

This final part of the evening was so elaborate that the encores even had an encore: an arrangement of the "Sabre Dance" by Aram Khachaturian. The music spoke for itself and needed much less conversation than took place, but this Duo was so engaging and so deeply musical that the audience was riveted until the final chords were struck.

HSO performances continue Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m.; and Sunday, 3 p.m., at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, 166 Capitol Ave., Hartford. A pre-concert talk occurs one hour before show time. Tickets are $35.50 to $70.50. Students tickets are $10. Patrons ages 40 and younger can buy $25 tickets. Information: 860-244-2999 and http://www.hartfordsymphony.org.